Lost in Etchitopia

Allen walked quietly to the man bent over the river of stone. He didn't want to disturb him but he did want to speak with him. "Hello," Allen offered timidly. The man did not move, reply, or even recognize Allen's presence. So he tried once more. "Hello!" "Ugh," the man offered a grunt in return. "Hello, my name is Allen," the boy muttered in an attempt to expand the conversation. "Oh. Oh! My Goodness chap! Move your feet and watch your step!  Can't you see that you are stepping on Giggle?!" Surprised to hear such a response from the man, Allen jumped backwards and tripped over a medium sized rock and fell directly on his backside. As he sat there shaking off his surprise along with a goodly amount of dirt, Allen listened intently as the man continued. "You were stepping on the most magnificent find of a Giggleglyph known to man!" He stopped dusting the rock and turned to look directly at Allen. He had a round face with a bright smile. His ears were mostly covered with wild strands of curly hair and his right ear seemed to poke out a bit further than his left. Half-moon thick spectacles, framing his blue eyes rested half way down his ruddy nose. A grainy moustache and beard, evidence of a few days growth, and sun-baked cheeks outlined his weathered face. Rings of dirt and sweat rippled around his shirt collar. "A Giggleglyph?" Allen had never heard of such a thing. "Yes. A Giggleglyph! I've been discovering them for some time now and the ones I've been finding here in Hiberfiniche Valley have been extraordinary." He took a moment to stand up. He was short, only about 4 foot 7 inches, and was thinner than his face led one to believe. He extended his callused hand and said, " Professor Alfred Xcovar Gigglestone, Archeogeopologist, pleasant to meet you." Hadn't we met before? Allen wondered. Then Gigglestone began to talk in a rapid fashion, "Now a Giggleglyph is somewhat of a mysterious creature. It is sometimes a simple piece of art left behind by a tribesman or a warrior or person of great importance. Although it can also be a rather complicated artwork left behind to provide a magical key to something even greater. On the other hand, it can hold a secret message that may take days, even years, to decode. On the other hand, it can be a piece of a puzzle or somehow related to another Giggleglyph. Yet on the other hand, now how many hands is that? Oh well, any way there are even a few that hold great powers. Oh, they're quite complicated indeed and I have been collecting them for years now. At any rate, we can't have you stepping on one. They're quite rare and valuable you know."